Art and Revolution in Egypt
Although reform – economic, political and security – has been, at best, slow (and at worst, non-existent), the people of Egypt undoubtedly have more freedom of expression than before the fall of Mubarak earlier this year. Debate is more open, protesters are still lodging complaints about the government and, naturally, the now depressed Mubarak has … Read more
Imposing Security Services By Any Other Name, Part III
Do we need any more evidence that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has done nearly nothing to reform the security services in Egypt? With SCAF’s inability (or unwillingness) to push for perhaps the most important post-Mubarak reform, it seems that instead of acting as a vehicle used to peacefully manage the revolution, … Read more
IMPOSING SECURITY SERVICES BY ANY OTHER NAME, CON’T
Right after posting a call for security sector reform in Egypt, read a post on Foreign Policy by Ty McCormick highlighting just how closely the new state security structure resembles the one that terrorized Egyptians under Mubarak. McCormick’s piece underlines just how necessary it is for SCAF to push forward meaningful reforms in this sector … Read more
Imposing Security Services By Any Other Name
Almost six months after the Egyptian people shocked the world by forcibly ending the 30 year reign of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian revolution is still murky and far from complete. Indeed, the removal of Mubarak from power was only the beginning of the struggle for the Egyptian people. Currently, the Supreme Council of the Armed … Read more
What Does a Successful Arab Revolution Look Like?
So far, the Arab Awakening has toppled two regimes, in Egypt and Tunisia. Obviously, both countries have fared far better than their bloodier counterparts in Syria and Libya, but serious problem remain. Both countries have postponed elections (both until October – though this is not necessarily a bad thing) and have experienced revolutionary flashbacks with … Read more
Job Listing: Searching for a Competent Photo Shop Expert
Back in the pre-Arab Spring days, the Egyptian daily al-Ahram attempted to pull the wool over the eyes of Egyptians by presenting a photo-shopped picture of Hosni Mubarak (see below) walking in front of US President Obama in a ceremony to initiate the start of another round of peace talks between Israel and Palestine (Obama … Read more
Is Syria The New Libya?
After the relatively peaceful revolution in Tunisia, many were shocked by the escalated violence utilized by the Mubarak regime in Egypt. Yet after the vicious response to protests by Qaddafi in Libya, hindsight has perhaps redefined the definition of a peaceful revolution. Rather than adopting the mass protest styles that resulted in regime collapse in … Read more
Death Penalty or Massive Fines in Egypt?
Egypt has been struggling to regain normalcy after the massive revolution throughout January and February overturned the government and brought down the decades-long rule of Hosni Mubarak. Perhaps most notably struck was the tourism sector – which was responsible for roughly 12% of total revenue (or 11.3% of GDP or 5-6% of GDP, depending on … Read more
Obama’s Empty Words
Despite the disingenuous fuss that has been made about the mention of 1967 borders in the President’s Cairo II speech, Obama really did not say anything, despite standing at the microphone for nearly 50 minutes. In many ways unlike his Cairo speech in 2009, President Obama’s beautiful rhetoric was generally empty of any real meaning, … Read more
Iran’s Position On Syrian Uprising
Since the outbreak of the now termed “Arab Spring” protests across the Arab World Iran has been actively supporting the protestors in their media except in two cases. The first and not as important case is Libya, which seems to stem more from a disdain of Western policy regarding the issue than a liking of … Read more
